1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a waterproof low insertion force connector which fits both male and female connectors to each other by an rotation operation of a lever and includes an elastic grommet to make waterproof of the connectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 4 shows an example of an waterproof low insertion force connector.
In a low insertion force connector 41, with a slider 43 slidably attached to a female connector 42 in a direction vertical to a connector fitting direction and a following projection 46 corresponding to a cam groove 45 of the slider 43 attached to a male connector 44, both connectors 42 and 44 are fit to each other with low insertion force by the pushing operation of the slider 43.
The fitting operation by the low insertion force is particularly efficient in the case where there are a large number of terminals in the connectors 42 and 44. In this case, a plurality of male terminals are accommodated in the female connector 42, and the front half tab- or pin-like electric contact of each of the male terminals is projected into a connector fitting chamber 47 at the front half of the female connector 42. The male terminals are crimp-connected to electric wires 48, respectively. The electric wires 48 are bundled by a vinyl tape to constitute a wire harness.
A plurality of female terminals are accommodated in the male connector 44. The female terminals are crimp-connected to electric wires 49, respectively. The electric wires 49 also constitute a wire harness. In this specification, the connector having the connector fitting chamber 47 is referred to as a female connector 42, whereas the connector to be inserted or fit in the connector fitting chamber 47 is referred to as a male connector 44.
The connector housings 51 and 52 of both connectors 42 and 44 and the slider 43 of the female connector 42 are made of synthetic resin. The slider 43 is formed in a shape of a rectangular plate. The slider 43 is provisionally locked by a provisional locking means such as a projection in a state where it has been slightly inserted in the connector fitting chamber 47 from a slit-like opening 50 on the outer wall of the connector housing 51.
A cam groove 45 of the slider 43 is recessed in a longitudinal direction from the tip side of the slider 43. The cam groove 45 is composed of an opening 53 at the starting side opposite to the front opening of the connector fitting chamber 47, a slope 54 sloping in the connector fitting direction from the opening 53 and a short locking straight portion 55 at the terminating side of the slope 54.
The following projection 46 which is formed in a shape of a short cylinder is attached to the inner wall of the male connector housing 52 so as to correspond to the cam groove 45. The male connector housing 52 has a left and right terminal fitting chambers (represented by 52). The following projection 46 is located in the slit-like spacer advancing space between both terminal fitting chambers 52.
The female connector housing 51 has locking arms 56 on the outer wall. The locking arms 56 are engaged with the periphery of the hole 58 of a panel 57 of e.g. a motor vehicle. The panel 57 is sandwiched by the locking arms 56 and the flange 59 at the rear of the female connector housing 51 so that the female connector 42 is locked.
A waterproof rubber grommet 60 is fit over the flange 59 and its front end is in intimate contact with the rear surface of the panel 57. This prevents water from invading the hole 58 of the panel 57. The wire harness (represented by 48) is passed inside the grommet 60. The end on the smaller diameter side of the grommet 60 is fixed to the wire harness 48 by winding of vinyl tape. The female connector 42 including the slider 43, male connector 44 and grommet 60 constitute a waterproof low insertion force connector 41.
As the panel 57, a panel such as a door for a motor vehicle, slide door, etc. is employed. The above low insertion force connector 41 is used to connect the electric appliance or auxiliary machine within the door to a battery power source on the side of a vehicle body.
As seen from FIG. 4, with the female connector 42 secured to the panel 57 and the slider 43 provisionally locked in a state to be projected long in an extracting direction, the connector 44 is initially fit in the connector fitting chamber 47. Thus, the following projection 46 advances into the opening 53 on the starting side of the slider 43. In this state, the slider 43 is strongly pushed into the female connector 42 so that the following projection 46 is pulled along the cam groove 45 in the connector fitting direction. Simultaneously, the male connector 44 is inserted/fit into the female connector 42. The slider 43 is completely locked in the connector housing 51 by the locking means such as the locking arm 61.
However, in the above waterproof low insertion force connector 41, in order to make connector fitting with low insertion force, the gradient of the cam groove 45 of the slider 43 must be set gently and the length thereof must be set long. Therefore, the slider 43 becomes lengthy so that the female connector 42 becomes large in the width direction, and the area required for the female connector 42 to be attached to the panel 57 is increased. Further, while the motor vehicle runs, the locking of the slider 43 is released owing to vibration or shock so that the slider 43 may move in a coming-off direction and the fitting between both connectors 42 and 44 may be loosed, thereby making electric connection incomplete.
The present invention intends to provide a water-proof low insertion force connector which can prevent an increase in the size of a connector and its attaching area due to the presence of a slider, surely fit the connector with low insertion force and prevent inadvertent looseness or coming-off of connector fitting due to vibration or shock of a motor vehicle to assure good electrical connection.
In order to attain the above object, in accordance with this invention, there is provided a waterproof low insertion force connector comprising:
a lever for fitting a male and a female connector to each other by its rotating operation; and
an elastic grommet for waterproofing the connectors, wherein the lever has an auxiliary flange and the grommet has an engagement portion to be engaged with the auxiliary flange when both connectors are completely fit to each other.
In accordance with the above configuration, both connectors are fit to each other by the rotating operation of the lever so that the space required to operate the lever is reduced as compared with the conventional slider and force-boosting effect is improved. The auxiliary flange is engaged with the engagement portion of the grommet when both connectors have been completely fit to each other so that the lever is fixed and the rotation of the lever in a returning direction is stopped. Therefore, the inadvertent looseness and coming-off of both connectors is prevented. Where both connectors are incompletely fitted to each other, the auxiliary flange is not fit in the engagement portion of the grommet and causes the grommet to swell outwardly so that the grommet cannot be mounted smoothly. In addition, since the an operator becomes aware of abnormality of the appearance, half-fitting (incomplete fitting) is detected. Further, since the lever is fixed by the elastic grommet, undue force does not act on the lever, the deformation or damage of the lever is prevented and engagement/positioning of the auxiliary flange in the engagement portion can be easily performed.
In a preferred embodiment, one of the connectors has a flange formed integrally to its housing, and when both connectors are completely fit to each other, the auxiliary flange and the flange are flush with each other and the engagement portion is engaged with the flange and the auxiliary flange.
In accordance with this configuration, after both connectors have been completely fit to each other by the rotating operation of the lever, in order to mount the grommet, the engagement portion of the grommet is engaged with the flange of the connector housing. In this case, the auxiliary flange of the lever is also engaged with the engagement portion and the grommet is locked to the connector housing by the flange and the lever is locked to the grommet by the auxiliary flange. In this way, the grommet is positioned on the connector housing with no rattle and hence the lever is precisely locked to the grommet with no shift. The return of the lever is surely stopped. Where both connectors have been incompletely fit to each other, the auxiliary flange of the lever stops smooth mounting of the grommet. Thus, the incomplete fitting of both connectors can be detected.
In a preferred embodiment, the lever is provided with an interference portion with the grommet at the tip of the lever, and the interference portion is projected in a direction vertical to a connector fitting direction when both connectors are not still completely fit to each other, and situated in the connector fitting direction as a result of its rotation when both connectors have been completely fixed.
In accordance with this configuration, when the connectors are incompletely fit to each other, the interference portion at the tip of the lever interferes with the grommet so that the grommet cannot be mounted. Thus, incomplete fitting of the connectors can be detected. When both connectors have been completely fit to each other, the lever is situated in the connector fitting direction as a result of its rotation so that the lever is accommodated with no interference within the grommet.
The above and other objects and features of the invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.